Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.
But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
My Review
The Hate U Give was by far the best book I read in 2017. If you haven’t heard of this book yet, where have you been hiding? This is an absolutely riveting, heartbreakingly honest story that will rip your soul a bit as you read it.
As is my practice with books like this, I probably broke all records for finishing The Hate U Give. Then I immediately ordered a copy to be delivered to my daughter at university. I could not wait for her to read it. In today’s world we need more stories like this one. Starr will redefine what a hero is for you. She is real and imperfect and her world is complicated, tragic, and flawed and yet rings with Truth.
This is a book I would have all my students read if I was still teaching my 4th year Children’s Literature course. Dealing with issues of race, poverty, drugs, and media bias, it is a book that everyone should read. I could say more but I don’t really have to – read the book and you’ll understand.
Buylink: https://www.amazon.ca/Hate-U-Give-Angie-Thomas/dp/0062498533
